Update on Final Draft of RMP

The final draft of the Highlands Regional Master Plan was released on November 19, 2007. The Plan was  modified to remove the Purple Blotches (primarily at our urging!) but still contains many of the same flaws that we complained about in the first draft. Only the colors have changed--the plan remains the same! We expect that the Council will adopt this plan, without significant changes, as early as April unless our members speak out!

For those hearty souls wanting to read the 390 page plan document, please follow the link: http://www.nj.gov/njhighlands/master/index.html

The plan still encourages the following:

• Allows for sewer expansion in the Preservation Area, in direct conflict with the Highlands Act. The language allowing for sewers to replace 'failed septics' is still included, even though the 'failed septics' are not defined in the plan. What number of 'failed septics' will warrant a new sewer system--3, 10, 30?

• Maintains "receiving zones" for transfer of development rights within the Preservation Area, even though it's in conflict with the Act, and would promote growth in areas already poorly planned with little or no infrastructure to support it.
  

• "Existing community zones" which are now yellow, replace the old "Purple Blotches" but cover a larger area. They are still in place over critical environmental areas such as the Pequannock River corridor, public water supply wells, and wetlands. The plan now identifies some of the environmental constraints underlying those areas (mainly slopes--streams are still not identified), but provides no standards--there are no restrictions protecting those constrained areas in the plan!
  

• Mapping errors still abound! Why are shopping centers, with acres of impervious surface, still in the "protection zone" while our streams, slopes, and woods are part of the 'existing community zones?'  Bad mapping, that's why!

• Incredibly, it encourages municipalities to petition for mapping changes. While they can't change the Preservation Area boundaries, they can petition to change areas from the Protection Zone to the Existing Community Zone. So now  the same local officials who were constantly chasing ratables and pushing for more development prior to the Act will be negotiating to allow the very projects the Act was supposed to stop. What do they have to do to make the change? Almost nothing, just show that it would be good 'economically.' Not a high bar by any standard.

• Promotes new growth in spite of water deficits throughout nearly every watershed in the Highlands! There is no water to support this new growth! The Council has come up with a new scheme to allow development even though water doesn't exist to support it. It's  called "conditional water availability" and it is not based on science, but on politics and the idea that developers will somehow figure out how to reduce water use through mitigation. There is no proof that this will work, and it poses an unnecessary risk to our water supply!

• Lake Management Zones were created, but they don't include any regulations or standards, and they don't apply to private lakes. This is more verbal sleight of hand. The Council promotes these as an improvement to the plan because they create new buffers which will help protect water quality. But these buffers are not backed up with restrictions or model ordinances to control the major problems of lake communities, such as overbuilding due to tear downs, water pollution due to overuse of fertilizer, or creation of vegetated buffers on stream banks to prevent pollution of our waterways.
  

• NEW! Transfer of Development Rights program targets environmentally sensitive sites in the Preservation Area, in conflict with the Act.
  

How can you help? What You Can Do To Support A Better RMP

Attend one of the Public hearings and speak out!

There are two somewhat local public hearings scheduled.  We note that the locations and timing of these meetings do not render them accessible for most of our members, but hope that you'll make an effort attend!

February 6, 2008 from 4 p.m. to end of public comment
Morris County Haggerty Education Center, 53 East Hanover Avenue, Morristown, NJ

February 11, 2008 from 6 p.m. to end of public comment
Passaic County Community College, One College Blvd., Paterson, NJ 

Submit comments.

The Highlands Council is accepting comments on the RMP via letter or email until February 28, 2008. 

The mailing address is:
Attn: Final Draft RMP Comments
Highlands Council
100 North Road – Route 513
Chester, NJ 07930

The email address is:  RMPComments@highlands.state.nj.us

What should you say? We recommend your comments cover the following main points:

• Additional development and growth should not be promoted in areas identified as having water supply deficits in the “Net Water Availability by HUC14” mapping. 

• Lands critical to preserving water quality and quantity should be in the Protection Zone or Environmentally Constrained Subzone. These include wetlands, stream and river corridors, floodplains and well-head protection areas. 

• Reductions in protective waterway buffers should not be allowed in any zone for any reason. 

• Changes in mapping should only occur where existing maps are in error and where the natural resources of the area in question justify the change. Municipal or county requests are not a sufficient basis for these changes. Economic criteria should never outweigh the need for water protection. 

Contact your elected officials.

The following officials, depending on your county, should receive a copy of your comments. In addition, please send a copy to the Governor’s office. The Governor makes appointments to the Highlands Council and is ultimately responsible for their actions.

Contact information:

Elizabeth Calabrese, Bergen County Freeholder
ecalabrese@co.bergen.nj.us
Bergen County Freeholders
One Bergen County Plaza
Floor 5 Rm. 520
Hackensack, NJ 07601

Jack Schrier, Morris County Freeholder
jgarifo@co.morris.nj.us
Morris County Freeholders
Morris County Administration & Records Building
P.O. Box 900
Morristown, NJ 07963-0900

Tahesha Way, Passaic County Freeholder
tway@passaiccountynj.org
Passaic County Freeholders
Passaic County Administration Building
Freeholder's Office
401 Grand Street
Paterson, NJ 07505

Governor Jon Corzine
http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html (website to send an email)
Office of the Governor
PO Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625

Write a letter to the editor!

For help with this, contact CLEAN's office. Letters can be sent to the following newspapers:

The Bergen Record: letterstotheeditor@northjersey.com
The Suburban Trends:  suburbantrends@northjersey.com
The Greenwood Lake News:  glnews@greenwoodlakenews.com
The West Milford AIM:  aimactionnews@aimactionnews.com

---